Counter-top construction



K. A. HARNISH COUNTER-TOP CONSTRUCTION March 10, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 14, 1956 INVENTOR.

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HIS ATTORNEY I} A 1 United States Patent COUNTER-TOP CONSTRUCTION Kenneth A. Hamish, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application May 14, 1956, Serial No. 584,537

6 Claims. (Cl. 4--187) This invention relates to a counter-top construction and more particularly to a kitchen cabinet counter-top that is adapted to directly support a sink and to mounting means for attaching the sink to the counter-top.

The conventional method of mounting a sink to a counter-top or drainboard in the past has been to provide a plurality of sink clamps that engage the sink bowl and the counter-top to support the sink. In this type of mounting the outer peripheral rim of the sink bowl is spaced from the counter-top and the mounting clamp must be adjusted in order that the rim will be at the same vertical height as the counter-top. This sort of mounting has one disadvantage in that the space formed between the sink bowl rim and the counter-top must be sealed in some manner in order that water and the like will not pass through the space. The usual device for sealing this space is a metal trim strip that fits over the space and extends entirely around the sink proper.

In contrast to the above-described sink mounting it is an object of this invention to provide a structure wherein the sink is secured to the underside of a counter-top without the use of conventional sink clamps and without the use of a conventional sink trim strip.

A further object is to provide a sink counter-top having an opening that is defined by a peripheral wall,

the peripheral wall being in alignment with the inner walls of a sink that is secured to the underside of the counter-top.

-Still another object is to provide a sink counter-top that comprises a metal reinforcing sheet to which is bonded an upper layer of moldable material.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the followingdescrip tion, reference being had to theaccompanyingdrawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sink counter-top and sink bowl made in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a top view of a counter-top made in accordancewith this invention; v

'Figure"3'is a sectional view taken Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figure is a sectional view taken along lines 5--5 of Figure 2.

Referring now to Fig. l, a sink counter-top generally denoted by reference numeral 1 is secured to a lower cabinet 3 and carries a valve control box 4. The valve box 4 has a handle 5 that controls the volume and temperature of the water issuing from a spout 7 by means (not shown). A sink bowl 9 having a drain 10 is secured to the underside of counter-top 1 by means to be more fully described hereinafter. A second countertop 11 disposed above a cabinet 13 is located in sideby-side relationship with the sink counter-top 1 and sink lower cabinet 3. The counter-top 11 may be used as along lines 3 3 of a work surface in a kitchen and is secured to counter-top The cabinets 3 and 13 may be provided with drawers or'may be provided with shelves and with doors for storage of various kitchen utensils. It is intended that the sink counter-top and sink structure be placed in any convenient part of a kitchen assembly. Thus, the sink structure might be disposed between two counter-tops or might be placed at the end of a second counter-top.

The sink counter-top 1 of this invention comprises a sheet metal box-like structure generally designated by reference numeral 14 having side walls 15 and 17 and a rear wall 18, as more particularly shown in Figs. 2

and 3. The walls 15 and 17 have inwardly bent substantially horizontally disposed portions 19 that are used to secure the sink top to a lower cabinet. The top wall of the sink counter-top is formed of a sheet metal layer portion 23 and downwardly bent portion 25. The side I walls 15 and 17 and rear wall 18 may then be welded to top sheet metal layer. It will be apparent that the box-like structure 14 might also be formed from a single fiat metal sheet by bending down side walls 15 and 17 and rear wall 18. A pair of angle irons 26 and 27 are welded or otherwise secured to the underside of sheet metal strip 21 to reinforce the same. A layer of moldable material 28 is bonded to the sheet metal top surface 21. The moldable material is also bonded to the outside of side walls 15 and 17 and to the outside of vertically extending sheet metal portion 23. The moldable counter-top material also extends downwardly over portion 25 to form a peripheral wall 29 that defines sink opening 24. It should be noted that the moldable material also extends under sheet metal portion 25 as at 31 and that this portion is thicker than the moldable counter material disposed above sheet metal portion 21. The moldable material 28 may be of any suitable heat and water resistant material and preferably is made of a thermosetting plastic material as disclosed in the patent to F. H. McCormick, No. 2,568,243. The

moldable material 28 is secured to sheet metal box-like structure 14 by placing the sheet metal box-like structure ,in a suitable mold and molding the counter-top material 28 thereto. When the molding step is finished, the moldable material takes the form described above and shown in the drawings. to those skilled in the art that the top counter material might besecured or bonded to box-like structure 14 by means other than molding. The thickened portion 31 of the counter-top may be provided with a plurality of screw-holes 35 that are adapted to receive sink mounting screws. The sink bowl 9, as shown in Fig. 3, has a rim 39 that abuts the underside of thickened portion 31. A plurality of sink mounting screws 41 have their heads in engagement with a metal reinforcing ring 38 that extends entirely around the sink. The sink mounting screws are threaded into the thickened portion 31 to securely fasten the sink bowl to the thickened portion of the counter-top. It should be noted that the underside of thickened portion 31 is formed with a face that is complementary to the inner face of rim 39 of the sink bowl. Thus, the sink bowl will tightly engage the bottom of counter-top 1 with a water-tight fit at the thickened portion 31 and a sealing compound may be disposed between the sink rim and the thickened portion to further insure water-tightness. It should also be noted that Patented Mar. 10, 1959 It will be apparent the side walls 43 of sink 9 are in alignment with the lower portion 45 of peripheral wall 29 and form a continuation thereof. With this construction, the peripheral wall 29 and inner walls 43 of the sink bowl form a smooth, substantially continuous surface.

Referring now to Fig. 4, a preferred method of fastening together the sink counter-tops 1 and 11 of Fig. 11 is shown. The counter-top 11 is fabricated in a fashion similar to that of sink counter-top 1 and may include sheet metal reinforcing members 1112 and 11b and a layer of moldable material 11c bonded thereto. The counter-top 11 has a vertically depending wall 12 that abuts the vertically depending wall 17 of sink countertop 1. A hole is drilled through the vertically depending walls and a bolt 46 is passed therethrough. The bolt coacts with a nut 48 which may be tightened to draw the vertically extending walls 12 and 17 tightly together. With this construction there is substantially no crack or space between the counter-tops 1 and 11 when the nut 48 has drawn the counter-tops tightly to gether.

The cabinet 3, as shown in Fig. 1, may be fabricated of a plurality of channels that provide a framework for the cabinet. The cabinet is finished by securing side panels over the channels and by placing drawers or doors over the front opening of the frame structure. The channels are more particularly shown in Fig. 3 and may include a horizontally arranged channel 49 and vertically arranged channels 50. The counter-top 1 is secured to the horizontally disposed channel 49 by means of one or more screws 51 that engage horizontally disposed portions 19 that extend from side walls 15 and 17 of counter-top 1. It is to be understood that the lower cabinet 3 might be of any form and need not necessarily have a frame made of horizontally and vertically arranged channels. Furthermore, any suitable securing means may be used to fix the sink counter-top to a lower cabinet structure or support. The space between the downwardly extending portion 23 of counter-top 1 and the lower cabinet 3, as shown in Fig. 3, is closed by a trim strip 53. The trim strip extends along the entire front of the counter-top and is secured at one of its ends to angle iron 27 by one or more cap screws 54. The opposite end of the trim strip abuts the downwardly extending sheet metal portion 23. The trim strip is made of metal or any other suitable material that has suflicient resilience so as to tightly engage downwardly depending portion 23 when it is secured to angle iron 27.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In combination, a sink counter-top having an opening, a sink bowl secured to said counter-top with its open end facing said opening, a support disposed below said counter-top, means for securing said counter-top to said support, said counter-top having a substantially horizontally disposed drainboard portion and a substantially vertically extending flanged portion integral with said drainboard portion and spaced from said support, and a trim strip closing the space between said support and said vertically extending portion.

2. A sink'counter-top comprising a sheet metal drainboard portion, a layer of moldable material bonded to the upper side of said drainboard portion, and a sink opening formed in said drainboard portion, said sink opening being bounded by a rim of moldable material on the underside of said drainboard portion that is thicker than said layer of moldable material and which is integral therewith.

3. A sink counter-top comprising a sheet metal drainboard portion, a layer of moldable material bonded to the upper side of said drainboard portion, and a sink opening formed in said drainboard portion, said opening being hounded by a rim of moldable material bonded to the underside of said sheet metal drainboard portion and integral with said layer of moldable material.

4. A sink counter-top having a substantially horizontally disposed sheet metal drainboard portion, a layer of moldable material bonded to the upper side of said sheet metal drainboard portion, and a sink opening in said drainboard portion, said sheet metal drainboard portion being bent downwardly adjacent said opening, said layer of moldable material having an integral moisture sealing portion that covers the inner edge and underside of said sheet metal drainboard portion to form a smooth wall defining said sink opening.

5. In combination, a sink counter-top having a sheet metal drainboard portion, a layer of moldable material bonded to the upper side of said drainboard portion, a sink opening formed in said drainboard portion, a rim of moldable material bonded to the underside of said sheet metal drainboard portion, a sink disposed below said counter-top, said sink having a portion abutting the underside of said rim of moldable material, and means engaging said sink and said rim of moldable material for securing said sink to said counter-top.

6. In combination, a sink counter-top having a sink opening, said counter-top formed with a relatively thin, substantially flat drainboard portion and a relatively thick sink opening seal portion integral with said drainboard portion, and a sink bowl fastened to the underside of said counter-top, said sink bowl having a wall in substantial alignment with at least a portion of said relatively thick portion to form a continuation thereof and in moisture sealing relationship thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,421,808 Robertson June 10, 1947 2,506,541 Callaghan May 2, 1950 2,641,519 McMahon June 9, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 103,698 Australia Apr. 28. 1938 

